An archive can list filenames while some compressed contents are missing or damaged. Recover the ZIP or RAR, then test the archive and extract its members—the files inside the archive—to a separate destination. Verify the important extracted files in their own applications. A visible directory listing is only one layer of evidence.
Recover the archive and all its parts
Start with Recycle Bin, a backup or a fresh download from the original sender. Check whether the archive was split into volumes: one .part1.rar or .zip.001 may depend on other parts. Preserve the complete named set in one working folder and do not merge volumes from different versions of the archive.
If no copy remains and the original disk is readable, scan it with XRecovery. Inspect the original folder and archive-type results, preview supported archive listings, then save candidates to another physical device. The product supports ZIP/RAR recovery and listing previews; a successful listing does not prove that extraction will succeed.
For a self-extracting archive, use an archive application to inspect it rather than running a recovered executable. This keeps validation focused on the data and avoids executing an unknown or damaged launcher.
Test before extraction
Open a working copy in an archive application supporting the actual format and choose its Test command. Record any CRC/data errors and missing-volume messages. In 7-Zip File Manager, Test checks archive members; Extract writes them to a destination. The 7-Zip recovery documentation explains why a file listing can coexist with data errors.
For an encrypted archive, enter the valid password when prompted. If authentication fails, check the password and the archive’s origin before treating the file as damaged. Once the password is accepted, test or extract the required members to a separate folder and inspect them. Recovering an archive file does not remove its encryption.
Extract to a new folder on healthy storage. Do not overwrite a trusted existing project with partially extracted files. Keep failed and successful members identifiable, including the archive path and any tool error.
When the archive is damaged
Try another complete copy before repair. XRecovery supports repair of ZIP, ZIPX, RAR and corresponding listed self-extracting archives. Add or drag a preserved local copy into the repair workflow, or send a found archive from scan results to the repair queue. Supply a valid password or reference file if prompted, preview the repair result and save the files you need. The result depends on retained content.
RAR can contain an optional recovery record, but that is not guaranteed. Its usefulness depends on what was included when the archive was made and the damage. The RAR 5 format specification distinguishes volume, encryption and recovery-record structures. It does not imply that a missing archive tail can always be reconstructed.
Validate the extracted files
Compare member names and sizes with a known manifest. If original SHA-256 hashes exist, calculate hashes of extracted members and compare them. Without originals, open critical documents, photos or project files and inspect their contents. A passing archive test establishes internal decoding/checksum consistency, not that the archive contains the intended revision.
Keep usable partial output with failed members listed. Do not label a truncated archive or a password-protected archive without credentials as a fully verified recovery.
For the next step, see Document Recovery: Deleted, Unsaved, Overwritten or Damaged?.